Protect the Truth, Not the Image

From my most recent article at WorldMag.com:

We all know people who are so focused on their image that what lies underneath has rotted away. It happens when image is primary instead of secondary. It ought to be a result of something more significant, not treated as something significant in itself. The NFL doesn’t seem to have learned this.

In the past few weeks, two star players have faced discipline from the league. Josh Gordon, a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, is in the appeals process for what will likely be a season-long suspension for smoking marijuana. He has been caught multiple times previously, and the NFL’s substance abuse policy is notoriously hard on repeat offenders. Ray Rice, the star running back for the Baltimore Ravens, will be suspended for the season’s first two games. His crime? Hitting his fiancée so hard she was knocked unconscious.

One man is caught with marijuana in his system and is suspended for a full season. The other knocks a woman out and gets suspended for two games. The disparity is glaring and ridiculous. How can this be?

It’s what happens when an organization puts policies in place primarily to protect its image . . . When anyone, an organization or an individual, prioritizes image they lose their center, the heart of what matters.